Nordicum - Real Estate Annual Finland 2014 - Page 20

Reinventing the City
New urban revolution is cooking
in the fringe areas
Urban regions have undergone significant changes in the past few decades – and the speed is only increasing. To try and
predict some of these changes, one needs concrete data and top-notch research. In this regard, Finland is quite fortunate
as the northern nation possesses some of the most detailed data on urban form and spatial structure in the entire world.
Senior Research Scientist Mika Ristimäki from Finnish Environment Institute SYKE says that there are numerous trends
impacting the urban regions right now that are quite significant – but have not been discussed in public nearly enough.
I
nternationally, it is clear that various cities are in open competition for the best
performing companies and talent, as well
as major attractions and other leisurely pursuits. The situation in Finland is not any different: cities are trying to put their best foot
forward to attract excellent tax-payers – both
the corporate and flesh-and-blood variety –
to the neighbourhood.
18 Nordicum
City for Life?
Mika Ristimäki subscribes, in part, to Floridian theory of increasing the appeal of the
cities with buzz and perks (ranging from rich
cultural offering to quality nightclubs) but
he feels that the downtown is not the only
game in town.
“Instead of the city centre, we should
pay more attention to the urban region
which enables various things in different
phases of life,” he says, meaning for example that while a young professionals would
rather die than venture far from downtown
lights, those very same people do change
their minds when there’s kids in the picture.
“In the city core, it is a good idea to have
those places where people get together,”
he says, adding that culture, for one, does